Review Summary: Eyes Djent to Kill
Eyes Set to Kill have been around for the better part of two decades now, and the height of their popularity came between the years 2008 and 2011, when they were releasing an album per year and touring non-stop. Two years after the release of
White Lotus – an oddball compilation album of new material, old material, covers and acoustic tracks – Eyes Set to Kill released
Masks in 2013. Up until this point, Eyes Set to Kill had been known for their emo-tinged style of post-hardcore, with male harsh vocals and female cleans. Most of these elements still remain in
Masks, except they kicked the heaviness up a notch or two in their songwriting, to the point where I feel more comfortable labeling this as a metalcore album as opposed to a post-hardcore album.
The intro title-track, which is a minute-and-a-half long guitar and vocal buildup into a breakdown – while being far from an original idea in metalcore – was actually exciting to hear my first time listening to the album, as it was something I would not have previously expected from Eyes Set to Kill. The first proper song,
Killing In Your Name, wastes no time in presenting what is to come for the rest of the album: fast riffs, intense singing, and kick-drum heavy percussion. The following track,
Lost and Forgotten, after a quick, chug-heavy intro, features a verse of harsh vocals from Cisko Miranda (the band's best screamer of the several they've had) before leading into one of Alexis Rodriguez's infectious choruses. The rest of the album maintains this same consistency of sound and tempo for the most part, with the exceptions of
Little Liar,
Infected and
Haze, which are slower, more melody-driven tracks reminiscent of the band's older music. Still, these tracks are good in their own right, and provide a peaceful break in the action when they occur.
Masks is Eyes Set to Kill's heaviest album to date, and also my personal favorite of theirs. There is an intensity and aggression on this album that is absent from their others, and given the more subdued nature of their latest self-titled album (as of the time of my writing this review), I doubt that the band will ever return to this sound. But with 13 tracks and a solid 45 minute runtime,
Masks is enough to satisfy the need for a heavy album with female vocals that afflicts every metalhead from time to time.
